Douglas F. Johnson

Douglas Johnson is a veteran trial attorney, whose litigation experience ranges from contract and real estate litigation to billion-dollar antitrust and consumer fraud cases.

Douglas F. Johnson

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Biography

Douglas F. Johnson represents clients in a broad range of complex commercial litigation and insurance disputes. After six years as a federal prosecutor, Mr. Johnson entered private practice, where he has been involved for over thirty years in a wide variety of sophisticated litigation in both state and federal courts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other states. When clients have important matters which can only be resolved through trial, they call on Doug.

Doug Johnson’s litigation experience includes the following:

  • nationwide consumer-fraud class actions, and individual consumer fraud actions
  • major banking, securities fraud, and lender liability litigation
  • representing clients in antitrust grand jury investigations, antitrust pre-merger Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance, and state and federal antitrust litigation
  • complex commercial contract disputes
  • employment litigation, including restrictive covenant litigation, and defense of employers in wrongful termination and discrimination cases
  • professional liability litigation involving attorneys and accountants
  • environmental litigation, including Superfund litigation
  • securities arbitrations
  • life, health, disability, ERISA and employee benefits litigation
  • insurance claims and coverage cases
  • estate and probate litigation
  • corporate, shareholder, partnership and real estate dispute litigation

In addition to his litigation experience, Doug regularly counsels corporate clients on litigation avoidance strategies, most often in the employment field. He is regularly involved in counseling clients on the myriad of issues which affect their businesses and their employees, including wage and hour compliance, employment contracts, restrictive covenants, departing employees, discrimination issues, compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act and other important laws and regulations. Companies in the medical field, including hospitals and physician practice groups, have retained Doug Johnson to advise them on many of these issues, as well as HIPAA compliance and Stark compliance.

After graduating with honors from Rutgers University Law School in Camden in 1981, Mr. Johnson spent six years as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, where he gained tremendous trial experience investigating and litigating white-collar criminal cases and complex antitrust matters. Since entering private practice, Mr. Johnson has occasionally gone back to Rutgers Law School as an Adjunct Professor, teaching Antitrust Law and Pre-Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Johnson speaks regularly on continuing legal education subjects involving trial practice, before both industry audiences and bar groups.

Doug Johnson is always prepared to serve the client’s best interests, whether taking a case to trial and through appeal, or trying to reach the best settlement possible.

Education

J.D., with honors, 1981, Rutgers University School of Law
A.B., 1978, Cornell University (double major in Government and Economics)

Honors and Affiliations

Associate Editor, Rutgers Law Journal, 1980-1981
Student Law Clerk, Rutgers Clinic-in-Law Program, Hon. Arlin M. Adams, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1980-1981

Hired by United States Department of Justice through Department of Justice Honors Program
U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division Special Achievement Awards, 1984, 1986

AV Rated in Martindale-Hubbell for over 20 years

Bar Admissions

Mr. Johnson is admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Professional Activities

American Bar Association (Litigation, Antitrust & Business Law Sections)
Camden County Bar Association
Defense Research Institute
District of Columbia Bar Association
New Jersey Bar Association
Philadelphia Bar Association
International Society of Primerus Law Firms

Community Involvement

Mr. Johnson has been an active member of Habitat for Humanity and The Sierra Club for many years.

Douglas F. Johnson

Representative Matters

  • Corporate Shareholder Litigation

    Doug recently represented the surviving shareholder of a medical practice in litigation brought by the widow of the other shareholder. After a trial court’s incorrect decision awarding substantial payments to the Estate of the deceased shareholder, we pursued a successful appeal, and then won the eventual retrial of the case before a jury.

  • “Tying Arrangement” Antitrust Litigation

    Doug represented a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical company in antitrust litigation against a competitor, suing over an allegedly illegal tying arrangement involving the two companies’ oncology chemotherapy adjunct drugs. We acted as local counsel with a major New York firm. The matter involved a state-of-the-art preliminary injunction trial in federal court in New Jersey, and eventually settled for $200 million.

  • Nationwide Consumer Fraud Class Action

    Doug represented a Fortune 50 medical device manufacturer sued in a nationwide, consumer fraud class action, regarding its optical products. We acted as local counsel with a large New York firm.  The involved class certification, extensive discovery throughout the United States, and negotiation of a coupon/payment settlement with the class.

  • Estate Litigation

    Doug recently represented a client in litigation involving her parent’s estate, which involved the distribution of several million dollars in real estate holdings to three children.  Because of the improper actions of the executor, we were successful in having the son and his counsel removed by the court from their positions as executor, and counsel to the executor, respectively.

  • Superfund Environmental Litigation

    Douglas Johnson and Carol Harding represented a waste hauler in Superfund litigation over the remediation of a municipal waste landfill. The matter was settled on favorable terms to the client.  This is one of a number of matters in which we have represented clients in serious environmental litigation.

  • Major Pharmaceutical Retailer Antitrust Litigation

    Doug Johnson is presently representing a major pharmacy retailer in a direct purchaser antitrust lawsuit against dozens of generic drug manufacturers.  The drug manufacturers are alleged to have been engaged in a years-long conspiracy to allocate markets and customers among themselves, as well as raising and fixing prices of such generic drugs to anticompetitive levels.  The complaint seeks damages in excess of $2.5 billion.